'On this day we remember the Dutch history of slavery, I ask forgiveness for this crime against humanity.'
The king of the Netherlands has said he felt ‘personally and intensely’ affected as he apologised for his country’s role in slavery.
King Willem-Alexander spoke at a ceremony on Saturday marking the 160th anniversary of the legal abolition of slavery in the Netherlands.
He also said he asks forgiveness ‘for this crime against humanity’, and added that racism still remains in Dutch society, Al Jazeera reports.
The Netherlands funded its so-called Golden Age of their empire in the 16th and 17th centuries by shipping about 600,000 African people as part of the slave trade.
Most of the victims were sent to South America and the Caribbean – former Dutch colonies were located there, and there are still three constituent countries: Aruba, Curacao, and Sint Maarten.
A Dutch study released in June found the royal family earned 545 million euros (£468.6 million) in today’s terms between 1675 and 1770 from the colonies, where slavery was widespread.
The current king’s ancestors, Willem III, Willem IV and Willem V, were among the biggest earners from what the report called the Dutch state’s ‘deliberate, structural and long-term involvement’ in slavery.
Willem-Alexander said: ‘I’m standing here in front of you as your king and as part of the government. Today I am apologising myself.
‘On this day we remember the Dutch history of slavery, I ask forgiveness for this crime against humanity.’
The apology follows Prime Minister Mark Rutte saying sorry on behalf of the Dutch state in September.
The king acknowledged Mr Rutte’s apology, saying ‘a start has been made’, but added there is ‘still a long way to go’.
During his speech which was also broadcast live on television, Willem-Alexander asked for forgiveness and said while nothing had been done about slavery for a long time, ‘at some point, one feels the moral duty to act’.
‘The chains have truly been broken’, he added.
Last year Willem-Alexander announced he would no longer use the royal Golden Coach which used to transport him on state occasions because it had images of slavery on its sides.
Other European leaders have declined to apologise for their country’s colonial past.
In January French President Emannuel Macron said he won’t ‘ask forgiveness’ from Algeria, but hoped to keep working towards reconciliation.
And Rishi Sunak similarly rejected calls to apologise and offer reparations to victims of the British slave trade and imperialism, saying the attempt to ‘unpick our history’ was not something the government would ‘focus its energy on’.
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